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Earthquake Map of New Zealand

Earthquake faults in New Zealand. Click the map to see a volcanic map of New Zealand.

New Zealand is sometimes called the Shaky Isles. The country lies on the Ring of Fire which means it is a hotspot for earthquakes. There are aroung 20,000 earthquakes annually, most are small, but the country gets its share of big quakes too. High risk faults in New Zealand include the Alpine Fault, Wairararapa Fault, Wellington Fault, and Napier Fault.

The deadliest earthquake in New Zealand was the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, (Napier earthquake) which claimed 256 lives followed by the June 2011 Christchurch earthquake which claimed 181 lives. The massive 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake in 2016 only claimed two lives due to being located mostly a rural area and striking in the earlier hours of the morning.